Freefalling
by Slayne22
Summary: Short action fic involving Beach-Head and Lady Jaye. Just wanted to write a fic where Beach isn't a big joke.


FREEFALLING  
  
  
G.I. Joe Fanfictin by Slayne22  
Created 2217  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own nor make any profit from any of the characters either Joe or Cobra or civilian in the G.I. Joe universe. I'll take Beach-Head though...since nobody seems to want him. Poor guy.  
  
Archive- Fanfiction.net/ Otherwise, if you want it, just ask.  
  
Note: This is NOT a romantic pairing between Beach-Head and Lady Jaye, nor do I intend to go that direction at all. Please do not freak-out and think I'm trying to pair her with Beach! Long live Lady Jaye and Flint! Ok? :-) I wanted to write a story showing the better side of Beach-Head, since he is so often portrayed as a joke or just a huge jerk. This is a first try for me with the Joes, so I hope you enjoy it.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
When Lady Jaye pulled the cord for her parachute and nothing happened, she found herself remarkably calm. For one thing, she was a Joe. She was trained to think through situations like these and react accordingly. If the main chute didn't open...then the reserve chute would. The other thing she thought, even though she knew better, was that this was a training mission. And no one died so senselessly in a training mission because of a chute failure. She ignored the rapid-fire examples of military training deaths that began to creep up and into her mind.  
Her hands pulled the cord, using touch to examine the contraption and decide what was wrong.   
"Lady Jaye...anytime now." she heard Beach-Head's voice through the radio in her ear. The two of them had been the last to jump, and he fell above her with a birds-eye view of the rest of the team. The others floated below, their parachutes open and graceful in the sky.  
"My main chute is failing." she replied, more calmly than she now felt.  
"It's getting late, pull the reserve." the slight southern accent ordered.  
"Jaye...do as he says," another deep voice in her ear commanded. Flint. He was in one of the helicopters approaching the landing field for extraction and was listening, of course.  
She reached up to her left shoulder and pulled the reserve chute. Worry speared through her gut when, again, nothing happened.  
"Aw shit." she muttered through a dry mouth.  
"Jaye, what the hell is happening? Pull your reserve!" Flint must have a visual on them now.  
"I just did!" she pulled it again and again in vain. What the hell? Their reserves were re-packed every few months by a liscensed parachute rigger. None had ever failed. "It's a failure!" her voice was rising slightly in volume and urgency as fear began to worm it's way through her belly.  
"Christ...Allison!" Flint was losing his cool, she could hear the desperation in his voice.  
"Keep your arms and legs out!" the deep, southern-laced voice of the Joe's Ranger echoed in her ear.  
She already was trying to drum up as much resistance as she could to slow her fall, but her fear-numbed mind simply replied with a soft 'ok'.  
Beach-Head pulled his arms and legs in, reducing the wind-resistance and diving down towards the female Corporal. He had delayed pulling his own chute when Lady Jaye had had trouble, and now fell towards her quickly. His posture and greater weight bringing him up behind her as Flint talked to her, telling her what was happening.  
"He's almost there, Allie." Flint was trying to keep the fear from his voice, but he never was very good at hiding his concern for Jaye, and it bled through in every breath he took.  
Lady Jaye wondered if she should tell him she loved him. Would he echo it back to her? Her thoughts were disjointed and fleeting, and she wasn't sure what to concentrate on and what to ignore. The hazy ground below was rapidly growing closer. They should have pulled the chute long ago. When it became inevitable, should she scream...or go quietly?   
'Do not go quietly into that good night,' suddenly echoed into her thoughts from nowhere. Fear crawled up her throat and forced a tear from her eye. It was quickly swept away into the wind.  
"Beach!" she shouted in alarm, hating the begging tone in her voice.  
A hand landed on her back, grabbing the chute pack, and then a body followed, hitting against her and twisting her around to face him.  
"Put your arms in my harness...when I pull the chute it's going to hurt!" he barked at her, grabbing her hands and forcing them under the straps of his parachute rigging. She folded her arms underneath his straps and back to her own, the way they taught her in class. She felt Beach-Head grab her belt tightly.  
"Ready?"  
She looked up at the masked face of the Ranger and nodded grimly. He pulled his chute.  
The resulting jerk was powerful and sharp. Pain shot up Jaye's arms and a cry escaped through her gritted teeth. One of her hands tore loose from Beach-Head's harness, and she felt herself slip as his hand ripped loose from her belt.   
"No!" she heard him shout through the radio, and his hand grabbed the strap at her shoulder, holding her almost painfully as he twisted the material. The fear exploded inside of her, and she felt the pain slip away in her panic. She grabbed his harness and forced her hand back under the straps.   
They were slowing now, but their combined weight kept their velocity dangerous. They had pulled so close to the ground! She was dimly aware of Flint shouting through the radio, but she couldn't concentrate on his words. She held tightly, trying to look downwards as they approached the ground. Beach-Head swore and she saw that they were drifting over a small grove of trees as he tried to steer with one hand, the other trying to hold her.  
"Hold on!"  
The trees loomed larger and then they were plummeting through them. She felt the dull impact of branches over her body and then a sudden jerk that ripped her free from Beach-Head and sent her spinning downwards. She had no idea which direction was up or down until she suddenly landed hard on her left leg and then her back. Air rushed from her lungs and she gasped loudly, her vision darkening, her heart beating frantically.  
She stared upwards for a moment, her mind slowly taking in the fact that she was now laying on the ground, motionless...and alive. Her chest heaved and she felt like she was suffocating. The panic and shock were so deep within her, that she only stared up at the sky and couldn't think.   
Gradually she became aware of a harsh yelling in her head. She frowned and listened to it. What was it?  
"Allison! Allison! Oh god! Please answer me!"  
It was Flint. She smiled. Her mouth opened to answer him, but the impact had knocked the wind out of her, and she only got out a small croak. Flint's cries continued on.   
She slowly sat up and looked around her. Her breath was slowing now, and she struggled with her harness  
"Beach-Head!" she suddenly cried out, struggling to her feet.  
"Allie?" Flint shouted, hearing her voice over the comm.  
"Are you ok?" came Duke's voice as well.  
"I'm ok! Where's Beach-Head?" She rose, pulling the goggles from her head, and winced as fire shot through her ankle. She limped forward, ignoring the delighted cries coming through the comm now, her eyes following the chute cords down to where Beach-Head sat suspended in his harness, his knees just above the ground. He was unconcious and leaning forward, his head hanging towards his chest.  
"Beach!" she cried out and approached him, fearfully. His arm moved and she went to her knees in front of him, looking up into his eyes. "Beach!"  
His eyes opened slowly and focused on her through his goggles. She reached up and slid them up and over his head.  
"Are you ok? Can you move?"  
His boots moved underneath him and he stood slowly in the harness. "Yeah...I'm ok."  
She exhaled in relief and sat back in the dirt, looking up at him. "My god!"  
He glared down at her as he worked the buckle on his harness. "What? You didn't think you were gonna die, did you?"  
She stared up at him in disbelief for a moment and then began laughing suddenly and couldn't stop. He released his harness and then stood staring down at her, giving her his patented hard-ass glare. She felt new tears running from her eyes as she laughed. Her voice rang through the small glade and she watched with even more amusement as Beach-Head's eyes began to soften and then narrowed as he grinned beneath the knit mask.  
"I knew one of you women would be the death of me." he said, shaking his head and causing her to laugh harder.   
She wiped at the water streaming down her face. A shout brought them around and they saw several Joes running towards them. Then she was crying silently as Flint dove into the dirt beside her on his knees, his arms hauling her against him in a hard embrace.  
  
It was sometime later, after Lifeline was assured that both of them had somehow escaped serious injury, that Flint gave the order to load into the helicopters. A few of the Joes made their way across the field to the waiting vehicles. Lady Jaye glanced over to where Flint and several others stood talking to Beach-Head. She limped over to where Beach-Head was sitting, his back against a tree. He watched her as she knelt down beside him. Their eyes met.  
"Thank you, Beach-Head. You saved my life."  
He shrugged. "Yeah...well, what else is new?"  
She shook her head and fought the urge to roll her eyes. He was a higher rank than her after all.  
"Does anything rattle you, Beach?"  
His dark eyes glinted at her. "No."  
She studied him for a long moment and then suddenly reached out and pulled the knit mask up and over his face. He was so surprised, he just stared at her. She leaned forward and kissed him firmly on the mouth, briefly. When she pulled back, he was staring at her, wide-eyed and shocked. She grinned and patted him gently on the cheek.  
"Now, that's better!" She rose and walked away.   
The other Joes were stunned speechless and they stared down at Beach-Head as he pulled the mask back down over his face. He looked up and at Flint, who was looking just as surprised as the others.  
"So...when do I get the payback for that?"  
Flint grinned at him. "Wayne...I'm so damned thrilled with you right now that I'm about ready to stick my tongue halfway down your throat myself."  
The other Joes laughed and Beach-Head took the hand the Warrant Officer offered to help him up.   
"Yeah...I think I'll pass on that if you don't mind." Beach-Head replied dryly as he got to his feet.  
Flint shrugged and clapped him on the shoulder. "Your choice. How bout a beer when we get back to base?"  
"Now that...is something I wouldn't mind going down my throat just now." 


End file.
